


Consigliere - Kitten and the Don

by TheOvidians



Category: UT Mob, Undertale (Video Game), kitten and the don, undertale mob au
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-06-09 07:14:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6895096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOvidians/pseuds/TheOvidians
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a three-part-story for an Undertale Mob AU created by nyublackneko und junkpilestuff, who are known from tumblr. The so-called "Kitten and the Don" AU revolves around a 48 year old Gaster!Sans, who became the head of a mafia family and his right hand 'human' Frisk (here, 30 years old). I wrote it with the intention of mixing elements known from classic Mafia tales, thrillers and from the classic Undertale lore and combine them to a dense narration.<br/>I am really excited about this project and I hope you will have a good time spending some of it in this dangerous, yet intriguing underground world! ;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mafia Patriarch Meeting

In the light of the first rays of the morning sun, a human leaned against the wall of an abandoned factory at the borderlands of town. They fished for a cigarette, put them between their bruised lips and searched for a lighter without success. They must have dropped it during their work.  
In the span of a whimper someone appeared beside them, acting casually as if he had been standing there for hours.  
"Need a light?" Don G asked holding an already glowing cigarette.  
Frisk, who had gotten used to his sudden entrances, simply sighed and hold out a hand to implicate they would accept his offer.  
"Patience. First, tell me how your search went. Then I will help you out in return."  
Their boss appeared to be in high spirits today if he mocked them right off the bat. Frisk stabbed him with annoying glances and he answered with a slight, mischievous smile.  
"Alright." they resigned and began to explain.  
"I got a lead about my case, but the guys I found inside the factory don't seem to belong to the group I was looking for. Even after a night of interrogation, they still claim they know nothing."  
"Should we ask them one more time nicely?"  
He still wore this dangerous grin, which eventually convinced them that his presence might really make a difference.  
Frisk pushed themselves away from the wall, moved to the rustic, sliding door and pulled it upon. On the floor inside sat several monsters forcefully bound together by a metal chain. One was still unconscious, others looked up to Frisk scornfully and some eyes reflected a fear so prominent, they couldn't hide.  
While Frisk's face and arms featured numerous bloody scratches as tokens of their fight with this bunch, it appeared they had paid each hit they received back by at least two times. Most of the monsters had swollen cheeks and lips, lacerations in the process of drying and bruises covering all parts of their bodies. All in all, they were a poor mess to look at.  
"They used this place to inspect and prepare illegal weapons for the black market. Pretty high rated machines enhanced with magic." Frisk voice was low, as they got nearer the gang members. G's white pupils in his black eyeholes were fixed on them.  
"I see." he whispered back, then raised his voice signaling he was addressing the monsters before him.  
"So you already made acquaintance with my subordinate here." G came to a halt and made a sideway nod towards Frisk. Most of the monsters looked defeated, even ashamed, one was brave enough to spit in their direction.  
"Listen, we are no cops and we are not interested in internal gang fights. So if you help out this human here, we will let you go and move on with our lives like none of this ever happened. But," he made a meaningful pause and kneeled down to get on their eye level. His counterparts, despite their misfortunate positions attempted to back away.  
"If you are keeping secrets from us and we find out later on, you can be certain we will find you and you will have a really bad time. Do you understand?"  
His words did their job and the bunch couldn't hold on to their tough facades. It was crippling down pretty quick. Frisk felt it was the right time to ask them one last time.  
"Let's try that again. I got hold of some information claiming you are working at the harbor. So, do you recognize these docks?"  
As they posed this question, they drew out a monochrome picture of the area in which they had woken up in. Ever since the time they had punched their way out of a crate, they had never given up on trying to find out, who had been responsible for their kidnapping.  
In a bizarre synchrony the responds shook their heads.  
"Are you sure? You have never been nearby this area?" They tapped at the photo with their still unlit cigarette. They exclusively requested this picture to be made in the hope it would help their investigation.  
"Listen..." One of the monster tried to speak up to Frisk, but they had difficulties on how to address them properly.  
"It's Kitten." G said with solemn seriousness in his voice, yet the corners of his mouth twitched as if he was trying hard to hold back a smile.  
The spokesman looked confused, unsure if he should follow the skeleton's advice or take the dangerous glares of the human as a heartfelt warning.  
"Anyway, you can ask us as many times as you want, but we don't work at the docks. We pay others, who transport the crates to this and similar places. There are way too many raids at the harbor and we don't want to get involved in them."  
Frisk locked eyes with the monster for at least ten seconds assuring themselves he spoke the truth. Sadly, what he said made a lot of sense and was congruent with most of what they said before.  
They spit out some light curses and put the photo in their blazer again. It didn't only mean this fight had been futile, G was by chance present to witness their failure.  
They moved to the chains and opened a lock that held them together. However, their furious aura was so strong, nobody dared to move until they had walked back to the doors.  
G examined the not-so-tough gangsters one last time, then joined Frisk outside.  
"Can you give me the lighter now? I could really use a smoke right now."  
He hold up his arms in a disarming manner.  
"Sorry, have no lighter either, just this burning stub."  
Frisk rolled their eyes. If they had not been out all night and frustrated about their inconclusive mission, they would have simply walked away, but they were in the mood for a confrontation. G pulled his cigarette up his mouth for one last pull and Frisk interrupted his drag by leaning over to him with their own to ignite it by touching their ends.  
When Frisk moved away from him again he gave them a curious look making them uncomfortable as he kept up this stare even after they had puffed out a cloud of smoke into the air.  
"What?" they finally confronted him.  
"Just thought you got a lot bolder since you joined my family. By the way, those guys wore a strange symbol, to what kind of gang do they belong?"  
They let his reasoning slide and focused on his question, which was also one of the early ones they had posed the monsters after their little...'conflict'.  
"I found it bizarre, too. Without exception, they have this simple, yellow flower imprinted on their skin or clothes. Each time I asked them about it, they just repeated 'The flower knows and sees everything and we are its leaves'."  
G threw a glance back at the open factory door. None of them seemed to have tried to leave the building until now.  
"This sounds more like an occult than a gang."  
"Exactly."Frisk agreed with him and took another puff.  
"I have to give them credit for their persistence. Even after my first respondent got unconscious they still would refuse to tell me more. So I took a break before continuing my interrogation, that is where you came in. You could see it, too. They knew nothing about my case anyway so I never returned to the previous question."  
G threw his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it to completely extinguish it.  
"As interesting as this was, I actually came here to pick you up for a meeting. It was announced late the last evening."  
Frisk quickly finished their smoke. Of course they wondered how he even found them and why he didn't tell them sooner, however, they knew he would only answer with sarcasm. They signaled him, they were ready and extinguished their cigarette in a similar manner as his.  
G placed his right hand on their shoulder and teleported them both out of the deserted, run-down region and reappeared on the staircase of a pompous building.  
Just when Frisk was stabilizing themselves after the jump, which still made them nauseous every time, a spider lady jumped around them from behind with a cackling laugh.  
"Always making a sudden entrance, dearie. You almost landed on me." she chittered. Despite looking like a fragile monster, Frisk knew her as the head of a mafia family, famous and feared for their renowned profession in paid murder. She wore a long, complicated and playful dress and a hat with a grand feather, at least twice as big as her own head. If they looked close enough, they could see tiny spiders running up and down the attire, leaving little cobwebs in the progress. It didn't seem to bother her.  
"I deeply apologize, Miss Muffet." G made a light bow expressing his respect towards a fellow Don.  
"Always the gentleman, G."  
Before she continued their way up with a pleased chuckle, she danced past Frisk leaving a handkerchief in their hands to their confusion and surprise. It appeared to be her way of saying they should clean their face, which they discreetly did.  
"It seems she wants you to look nicely for the meeting." G said, conforming their own assumptions, and followed right after Muffet. Frisk moved behind him and walked in his shadow like they usually did. Upholding the tradition of the mafia family hierarchy was an unspoken, yet holy principle. 

A surprising amount of family heads sat around the long mahogany table in a room specifically designed for conferences. Sublime, grand paintings coated the walls with the similarity in depicting unity, agreements. The discussed topics varied from casual news to trading rights and renewing turf boundaries. A special guest, a grand, furry monster in a simple, yet obviously expensive suit, with a natural air of dignity sat on one end of the table. Asgore was known as a politician, but had been a famous Don for many years prior. He hardly spoke during the whole process, not until everything else was said and the attention moved automatically to him. Frisk was also curious for the reasons of his attendance. They tried to examine him without moving from their place. They stood at the window behind G like the other few subordinates, who accompanied their bosses. Usually nobody took notice of them.  
"You all know that I stepped down from the position as a Don some years ago, so I thank you all for treating me like I still wield this title." Asgore's voice was dark, careful and strong, yet pleasant to listen to.  
"Many of my previous members became a part of your families after I disbanded my own and I still regard them as honorable friends. But lately I experienced a worrying number of assassination attempts and I can just assume the initiators hold a grudge against me for my past decisions."  
The faces of the patriarchs were hard to read. A serene silence laid upon the table, everyone waited for him to continue despite most of them guessed his ambitions by now.  
"I am aware the government could easily provide me with more bodyguards and protection. This, however, wouldn't help. I am certain the people, who want to see me dead are experts from the underground, only equally skilled monsters from the same background would be able to really protect me. So I am asking all of you for assistance. The payment would be, of course, generous."  
Murmurs spread across the room, opinions were shared by leaning towards the ear of partnering groups. Serious offers were calculated by the ones, who fell in a thoughtful hush.  
Frisk's heart made a jump when they realized it was their own boss, who spoke up first.  
"If it's protection you need, then I can provide it, my old friend. It is my and my families expertise after all."  
It was easy to forget with his constant teasing and mockery, that G was an experienced mafia boss. With his legs crossed, hands folded in his lap, in a silken black suit and a serious glare that moved all around the table, he suddenly looked more dangerous than any other monster at this gathering.  
It took several moments before anyone could react to his proposal.  
"Excuse my boldness."  
A person behind the honored guest stepped up to the table and Frisk had to admit they didn't take notice of her until this very moment. Dressed in a simply suit, her feminine curves were contrasted by her muscular arms visible through the tucked up shirt and even more emphasized by the eye patch covering her right eye.  
"But what makes you so sure you can provide Asgore with protection we haven't covered yet?"  
This fish lady had broken the traditional customs and some of the attendances weren't pleased by her so-called boldness. G didn't move or change at all.  
"I will give you two pieces of advice, so listen well. Firstly, if your protection would be flawless, Asgore would not have come here. Secondly, if you want to defeat a shadow you need to be a shadow yourself." he explained slowly, his voice turning darker with every word.  
Asgore sighed and signaled his accompany to step back again.  
"G is right, Undyne. It is not a critic towards you or your men, you do an excellent job. This merely escapes the honorable areas in which you work in."  
Clearly Undyne wanted to disagree with him. She didn't got a chance. A new party was joining the discussion.  
"And who says G is the only one who can meet your demand?"  
Madjick, the head of a family of magicians, known to be a spunky jester dared to raise this unavoidable question.  
"My guys are silent, their magic is strong. What are you offering in return? Your human?"  
Frisk's hair stood up, their body became stiff. They never expected that someone would move their attention to them. Now, almost all eyes were fixated on them and they tried to return them with a strong, yet not daring look.  
"You are attacking myself when you scrutinize my family members." The skeleton drew the eyes towards him again.  
"Yeah? You never cared so much for your members and out of nowhere you bring this always bruised human along and expect for us to accept it without a word? Now you are claiming this job your own and again, expect from us to stay silent. I won't let you do as you please like this anymore. You need to justify yourself! Why do you bring this human to our most intimate meetings and why do you think your family is more suited to take on Asgore's job?"  
During Madjick's speech coated in frustration and mistrust, Frisk realized with a sour taste on their tongue, how many heads nodded in agreement.  
They couldn't see G's face, they could only guess his thoughts. Torn between the two possibilities of staying silent or speaking up, they fiercely fought with themselves. Frisk didn't want to destroy what they worked for the last months, but their instincts screamed to speak up and disregard every tradition and common sense.  
G took this decision away from them, raising his voice against this claims himself.  
"I think you forget how far and profound my influences are. You are still a young patriarch, so I will forgive your harshness. Be reminded that it is only due to my benevolence, that I have no interest in petty fights anymore."  
Those words didn't reflect the entire truth, thought their effect was undeniable. Most patriarchs were now looking in diverse directions, showing no signs of desiring a confrontation with him anymore.  
Only the head of the magicians was either brave or simply stupid, he didn't realize it was time to quit this discussion.  
"Petty fights? I heard this human of yours is searching those 'petty fights' quite often."  
The air in the room got heavy, it was like it was charged with old, powerful magic and it was G, who was clearly the one causing this alarming change in the atmosphere.  
"Are you aware you are badmouthing my consigliere?"  
Murmurs raised again, marked by astonishment, disbelief. Frisk didn't know what the word meant, only that this addressing seemed unexpected and it caused a sudden halt to Madjick's accusations.  
"We weren't aware they are your consigliere and we are glad you finally found someone who upholds this position in your family. If nobody else disagrees with G's proposal, he will take on Mister Dreemurr's proposal." Muffet disarmed the situation completely, with small gestures of her four arms, they paid G respect and he accepted them with a short nod.  
Frisk was still in the dark of what their own title meant, but they made sure they performed unbroken self-confidence.  
Agreements were enunciated and Madjick, along with other families, stood up and left the room furiously. The meeting was over and everyone, in their own pace, went on with their own businesses.  
When Muffet also danced out of the room, not before throwing a smirk in G's direction, only themselves and Asgore, with his accompany stayed behind.  
The politician's shoulders sunk, his whole prideful appearance vanished, leaving behind a man, who was marked by his long, conflicted past.  
"I am grateful you took up the job, my old friend. At least, I am certain I can completely entrust this matter to you."  
He finally stood up, G did the same and they exchanged a friendly handshake.  
"I don't let anyone snatch away a request of an old acquaintance." he returned and side by side they exited the conference room. Undyne and Frisk followed in a respectful distance letting their two bosses have enough space to have a private chat.  
During their slow decent of the stairs, the fish lady pinched them on their side and leaned in to whisper into their ear.  
"Heard some stories about you. You appear as tough as everyone says. If I need to work with someone, I am glad it is you."  
After all this doubting and questioning Frisk felt truly grateful for her words. They even answered her broad, direct smile with a restrained, but mild one of themselves.  
Out of the building, Asgore pulled out an old and expensive-looking pocket watch.  
"As much as I enjoy catching up with you, I need to go. We will discuss the details of the contract later."  
"You know how to contact me."  
G seemed like his usual self again, he was more laid back, more careful in his gestures rather than aggressive.  
Asgore nodded and winked towards a car, which was standing several meters away from the building. The monster, Frisk wasn't entirely sure what he was, but his dress code marked him as a chauffeur, walked around the car, got in and they could hear the motor roar as he started the engine.  
Like a thunder stroke the car exploded, turning into a scorching red ball with an ear-popping bang. Frisk was secretly glad the explosion had been incredibly loud, so nobody noticed their gasp out of sheer shock.  
While they tried their hardest to calm down their breath, G and Asgore looked irritatingly unimpressed.  
"This was the fourth car this month."  
Undyne was saying this in the same tone as someone would talk about an annoying, yet insignificant hassle, like bad weather or getting served the wrong dish.  
"Undyne, would you be so kind..." Asgore didn't even need to finish the sentence, his subordinate was already on her way, down the street, waving in a dismissive manner.  
"I know, I will find Blooky, call the firefighters and return with the spare car."  
Frisk was speechless. His car exploded and he stayed perfectly calm, like...no...he WAS used to this. Many questions bottled up inside them and they needed to bite their bottom lip to prevent them from bursting out of them all at once.  
G indulged in a quick, delighted laugh.  
"They almost got you good this time, Asgore. This is why I always prefer teleporting."  
"It's your special magic, G. I depend on my car, you know that."  
"What about the chauffeur?! How can you stay so calm if one of your man just died?"  
Frisk couldn't withhold themselves any longer. They were aware, how little some bosses cared about their family, but this furry monster didn't act like one of those scum. Therefore, they were irritated and mad and had no intention to hide it.  
"How long do you think I am in this business, my child?" he turned around, his eyes were warm, assuring.  
"What you saw blew up was just a possessed mannequin. I hired Napstablook, the ghost inside of the moving puppet, exactly for those life threatening jobs. If the vessel is destroyed he moves on to the next. With each assassination, he gets a bit more melancholic though."  
Frisk felt a bit relieved. They decided to leave it at that, as G raised his voice.  
"Work is calling me, too. But before I go, I wanted to ask you about a curious discovery my consigliere had made this morning."  
He took out a cigarette and indicated he had no lighter. Asgore helped him out by merely holding one thumb under it and casted a small flame until it ignited. Frisk took a note of his magic, wondering how powerful this flicker could grow if he would desire it.  
Taking the first puff without blowing out the smoke, he continued.  
"They got hold of some gang members, all marked with a strange symbol for this kind of business. They wouldn't tell us where they belong and we had no real interest in finding out with brute force. I figured I would, at least, ask you as someone who is more familiar with those customs than I am."  
"You give me too much credit, go on."  
"It was a simple image. A yellow flower with five petals. A few eternalized it on their skin as a tattoo, others had stitched it on their clothes. When Frisk asked them about it they acted like fanatics. Claiming, the flower knows everything and they would always follow it. Does that ring a bell?"  
G had drawn the image into the air and Asgore sunk into some deep thoughts. His eyes became pitch-black and endless. If he knew something, it was impossible to guess it in his facial expressions.  
"I am sorry, old friend, but I am not familiar with this symbol, nor have I ever heard of that credo." he eventually concluded.  
"I see." The skeleton made a dismissive shrug and faced Frisk directly.  
"I need to go. Would you wait with Asgore until his car arrives?"  
They would have done that even without his order, so it was easy to agree.  
"Of course."  
He looked pleased and with a last head bow he vanished into thin air.  
Frisk watched the fire in the safe distance for a while. Several pedestrians came by and either stopped in a safe distance and turned around or forwent the car with aghast faces.  
"Becoming a consigliere in such a short amount of time is truly impressive, especially since your boss is known for hardly trusting anyone."  
Asgore began a casual conversation and Frisk was glad and uncertain at the same time about engaging in it.  
"Yes...I guess. He always appears very secretive, but I have the feeling his motifs are often simpler than we believe."  
The former Don laughed delightedly.  
"I can already see why he takes a liking to you. But...just between you and me, you can admit that you don't know what your new title means."  
He saw right through them and it caught Frisk off guard, they blinked perplexed at him.  
"I...to be honest. I have no idea." They quickly resigned, figuring they couldn't keep on pretending in front of him.  
"No wonder. It is a rather outdated word, but we still tend to use those to make different positions sound more special. And this one, really is. A consigliere is the most trusted right hand man of a Don. It means you are his top advisor, handling the distributions of the jobs, managing the bosses schedule, even acting as his substitute in some cases. A consigliere knows of all private, as well as professional matters. It is indeed, the highest position, besides the Don, of course."  
Frisk needed to let this information sink. Even after all their obvious attempts to use their job only to investigate their personal problems, he gave them this heavy title without hesitation. It made them wondering about their future, where their place was in this bizarre world.  
Figuring they wouldn't talk up on their own, Asgore began a conversation anew.  
"You know, you remind me of my adopted child, they were also a human. I called them Chara."  
Frisk was surprised about his change in his tone, his voice became heavy and mournful.  
"I didn't know there were other humans in this business beside myself." they admitted.  
"Chara left my family when they became an adult, they simply walked out of the house and never came back. I had hoped for them to inherit my family."  
"I am sorry." They didn't know what they could say besides the obvious. They felt useless, like their words were not enough, but Asgore accepted them with a tired smile.  
"It's alright, I just hope they can live a good life out there and I have a son of my own, too. Asriel was never interested in my business, but he joined the military to help this country, especially his own people. Despite not hearing from him in long intervals, I am proud of him."  
"He sounds like a fine monster."  
Frisk had this lingering feeling they were witnessing a rare and fleeting moment of honesty and openness. They guessed it was due to their similarity to his adopted child. Before they could think of more fitting words, the frenzy ringing bell of the firefighters sounded from the far end of the street and the prominent red car drove up and past them.  
Shortly after them came Asgore's new limousine, almost identical with the one, which was still burning and was now doused with water.  
"Thank you, consigliere of Don G, for keeping this old, boring man company." he said with a coy wink.  
"It was my pleasure." they returned, despite using those words often only in a formal manner they actually meant them this time.  
For a moment, Asgore looked at them and Frisk were sure he saw someone else, maybe a lost child, that didn't come home for a long time. Then, he put on the mask of a tough and experienced politician and walked towards the door of the car, held open by Undyne.  
Frisk looked after the car even after it was long gone and watched how the sun illuminated the street and the windows of the nearby houses. They felt how slowly the missing sleep was creeping into their body making their eyelids heavy and their body sore. They decided to call it an early day and began to walk past the dark, brittle framework of what was once a prestige car.  
Its previous owner might merely shrug these attempts off, but for Frisk, its message was imprinted into the metal carcass with a worrisome clarity:  
Whoever did this wouldn't stop until they would reach their goals and it was now G's and hence Frisk's duty to prevent this from happening at all costs.


	2. The Secret Gala Mission

A consigliere is the most trusted person on the side of a Don.   
Despite their attempts to ignore unnecessary thoughts, Frisk's mind continuously returned to Asgore's explanation about their recently obtained title within Don G's family. It had caused quite an uproar within the underground. Not only had they been at his side for just a few months, they were a human above all else. Many must have believed they were intervening in a monster exclusive matter and Frisk could understand their worries, even if the truth couldn't be further away from it.  
Two days after G's sudden announcement of their promotion, they sat on a window still with a thick pocket calendar and several papers tucked under their left arm. The fact, that they are in their possession and had been in-depth instructed about managing their bosses time table, were two of several new assignments, which came along with being a consigliere. Even though, G and Frisk had never directly talked about the events of this meaningful meeting.   
"Who is coming up next?" he asked, sitting in his black, leather chair where he preferred to execute most of his routine work in.   
Frisk took their eyes away from the bustling streets over 10 floors under them and quickly searched through the list of today's guests. Most of them were business partners, pleading for protection forces of their diverse, often questionable, establishments, while they would promise G a small percentage of their income in return. His offers often appeared generous and were thus reputable. Effectively, they were highly profitable for the Don and his subordinates, who often just needed to stand around and look tough.  
"Two are left, but Mister Coreolone contacted me before to let you know he needs to excuse himself today. So only Asgore Dreemurr is left."  
"The old politician is finally showing his face, eh?" G's tired gaze got a playful sparkle, making Frisk wonder what kind of past these two patriarch's share.   
"Could you prepare a golden flower tea for him and an espresso for me? That would be all." They nodded, glad that their job would be over soon for today. They walked to a neighbouring room with a little kitchen and began to boil some water. They picked out the demanded tea, it was an alien brand to them and was inside a little package with a mixture of dried green and yellow leaves. The smell with quite pleasant. Before putting the tea away, they caught a glimpse of a picture, that was printed on the package and an alarming feeling stroke them. This image was oddly familiar...  
Realizing in what context they have seen it, they went on to prepare G's espresso with swift and routinely gestures and returned to his office.  
"Their gang symbol is the golden flower!"   
Frisk placed the coffee and this newly obtained information before their boss and it was unclear if he was merely caught off guard for a brief moment by their presented fact or by their subtle, yet unusual enthusiasm.   
"You mean those guys you interrogated two days ago?"  
It was a rhetorical question, of course he knew what they were referring to as he had been present by chance when Frisk had been asking a bunch of organized weapon smugglers about a personal case. He leaned back in his chair und juggled with his memories of the tattoos and stitches of a yellow, no, golden flower.  
In the time they needed to blink, he vanished from his place and G had reappeared on the open window, Frisk's previous place, when they turned around in search for him. Teleporting was his trade mark. Getting on their nerves, because he tended to do it when they expected it the least was his trade mark, too.   
"You might be on to something. The golden flower symbolizes many things. It is known for its fast regeneration. Many experiments were conducted using it. Some still regard it as a sort of royal symbol." he said, looking outside at nothing in particular.  
"Maybe you can ask around some more about them. Those guys at the factory didn't know anything of worth, but it could still be possible somebody else within their ranks have some valuable information."  
"You think that could be possible?"   
Frisk joined him at the window. They crossed their arms and continued to observe the small, yet uniquely shaped dots swarming around the paths along the busy streams of cars.   
"From what we know, their gang is organized in a chain-like structure. It has the advantage of easily negating all attempts to trace back an order to its prior initiator. You need to erase one link and the chain breaks apart. On the other hand, this system is also slow. The order needs to be handed down by many instances so it isn't flexible and hard to control."  
"Sounds like a hassle."   
The flower gang's credo echoed in their head.   
'We are its leaves.'  
A flower would always be able to grow back leaves, even if they would be repeatedly cut off. Finding the core of the gang meant, it would be necessary to find the flower's roots.  
"Sounds just like you." G chuckled mildly and nodded down at a long, silver car briefly parking before the building. Two people got out and moved towards the entrance. It was, without a doubt, Asgore and his loyal assistant.  
Don G walked the way back to his desk and waved towards the door. The gesture was Frisk's cue to go ahead and greet their guests. It was a common custom, only this time, they were honestly looking forward to it.

The conversation of the two bosses moved back and forth from a highly professional discussion to sentimental remarks. Frisk and Undyne listened to their talk in a respectable distance, equally glad, they both favoured a comfortable silence over forced small talk.  
"It is decided then. I will provide two personally selected groups. One to investigate the previous assassination attempts and another for invisible protection." concluded G, holding up two of his skeleton fingers.   
"Thank you for accepting my request and keeping it small and simple."   
Asgore agreed and took his last sip of his tea, which he had joyfully recognized as his favourite blend.  
"Actually, make it three." he added, after he put the cup down again.  
"Next sunday will be a grand gala celebrating the accomplishments of monster and human correlation projects. As a guest of honour I am quite certain it will be the perfect place for a homicide. If the culprits intend to send a message to the public than this is the place they will strike again. This is highly speculative, of course. But the outcome of this evening will bring some clearance to their ambitions one way or another."   
He looked behind him, towards Frisk.  
"For this occasion, I would like someone as competent as your consigliere for some additional company."   
G began to tap on the desk. It was a clear sign, that he disliked this idea.  
"You want to 'rent' Frisk as visible security? I don't believe this job is up their expertise." he questioned the politician's request. His voice stressed the point and simultaneously upheld a light, joking tone.  
"I can handle this job and you can handle yourself for one day." Frisk responded and stabbed their own boss with enraged gazes, then moved their eyes to Asgore.  
"It would be a honour to accompany you and make sure you will be safe during this meeting."   
Asgore shook his head in gratitude and approval.  
"Seems like your subordinate decided for you. Of course, you still have the last word."  
G took his time to answer. He leaned back and forth, his thoughts visible, yet untouchable looming above him like a stream of smoke. Eventually, he resigned.  
"I can't possibly deny a request posed by an old friend and by my own family member."   
He locked Frisk with his one working eye and with no possibilities of escaping him.   
"But don't cause, under any circumstance, a commotion. You simply watch the surroundings for anything suspicious. The rest will be handled by the authorities or our own men. You understand?"  
His words were an order, a request, an indirect threat, an expression of worry.  
Frisk understood.

G's warning was still present in their mind, when they walked behind Asgore towards a modern, luxurious building crowded with mingling monster and humans alike. They were associated by their high standard dress code and the glass of champagne, which they carried around.  
Frisk scanned their faces, the corners of the park, the long entrance and finally the building inside. The gala was held in one big room, mostly surrounded by a highly modern construct of metal and glass. A bar lined one side of the hall and on its other side were baroque stairs leading to a second floor. The topping of all this openly displayed splendour was a big chandelier illuminating the room with the reflection of countless diamonds.  
Asgore moved from groups to single acquaintances with the ease of someone who has done nothing else his whole life. His two bodyguards, Frisk and Undyne, flanked him and walked along to his left and right without showing their affiliation to him too obviously. Within this building, they were supposed to appear as merely normal guests.  
The night was advancing slowly and eventless, so when Frisk passed a mirror and caught a glance of themselves they even stopped for a moment to critically look at their appearance.  
They weren't the one who had decided on it. The day before their job, their suit, which is fashionable, as well as, uncomfortable and thus strictly against their own taste, hung at the knob of their apartment. It couldn't have been more obvious, who was the generous donor and he knew this all too well himself, because he had also left a note along with them:  
'Wear this suit or they won't let you inside tomorrow, forcing you to resign from this job and to admit I was right after all.'  
They didn't have a choice. Not after those provoking words, therefore they wore a dark blue pair of flares with a white formfitting blouse, tucked into the trousers and kept together with a belt up to their waist. They had passed on the attendant blazer. It was a humid, warm summer evening and it would have been stiff and hard to move in.  
Something around their neck reflected the bright light of the chandelier. They quickly closed the collar of their shirt by one more button.  
Subsequent, they continued to scan the room and kept an eye on some guests, depending on how they looked and acted. They, seemingly randomly walked past Undyne and they exchanged their observations with each other in low voices.   
As expected, nothing out of the ordinary.   
They agreed on mainly focusing on who enters and who exits the room. After another round, Frisk decided to sit down at the bar. This would allow them a good view of most of the doors, while they could only be seen from few directions. They picked a stool a bit offside the rest of the guests and searched for Asgore's a while. He was laughing and clinked glasses with a nervous looking human.  
"Try the brandy, it is quite good."  
They had been completely sure, the seats to each side of them had been empty mere seconds ago and now someone sat beside them in his all too well-known manner, acting like he had been sipping on a drink here for the whole night.  
"What are you doing here?" Frisk asked G without looking at his direction.  
"Just dropping by for a drink."   
They had dozens of comebacks ready on their tongue. A Don would not bypass the security of a top exclusive gala, simply to have a nice drink. But they withhold themselves, mostly due to his commentary:  
"Don't look surprised, people will notice."  
Frisk took a deep breath. They needed to adapt themselves to the situation, so they ordered his recommendation and continued to look around routinely.  
"This is a rather boring soiree." Their boss commented after indulging his drink.  
"Maybe those two guys who are walking up the stairs right now could turn out to be more interesting."  
They hated to admit it, but G was right. Two monsters in simple suits walked towards a door on the second floor and looked behind them several times before entering. They seemed too tough to be politicians, too careful for security.   
Frisk got up without haste and followed them. G wasn't on the bar, when they peered in the direction of it at the top of the stairs.  
Behind the door was an empty corridor with dozens of other doors sprawled on each side. The monsters of questionable profession just made the first turn and Frisk moved fast and cautious. Until they determined what those guys intentions were, they would prefer them to get by unnoticed.  
A lot of their discussion was unrecognizable, only on another short turn, they could get near enough, to catch some pieces of their conversation.   
"...with Asgore being today's target again, we can't afford a failure." said the smaller one, his shirt highlighted, rather than hide his buff figure.  
"Yeah, we don't want to anger the boss even more. Not after that fiasco of the last car explosion." his accomplice agreed.   
Frisk didn't hesitate anymore. With almost no sound they stepped up to them, packed their heads, each in one head and bashed them against one other. They hit perfectly, causing the victims to collapse like a puppets, who suddenly lost their strings.  
Frisk knew they needed to act quickly and concluded, after checking the nearby doors, that were all locked, they would need some assistance when the two henchmen woke up again.   
They ran all the way back and searched for Undyne. Spotting her at the entrance, they signalled her to follow them and went back, hoping Asgore's right hand would understand.  
When they returned to the unconscious monsters, their fingers and faces started to twitch. It meant they had hardly a minute before they would completely come to their senses again.   
Frisk searched them and found three pistols overall. It confirmed the already obvious: they belonged to a mafia family or a gang, the one responsible for the past assassination attempts, that targeted Asgore.  
What Frisk didn't expect, were the tattoos they found right before Undyne reached them.   
"Is that...a golden flower?" she asked leaning above them with a raised eyebrow.  
"It is the gang symbol we were recently investigating." they reminded her, then went on to explain their actions and what they overheard.   
After Frisk finished, she had a dangerous smile covering half of their face. They guessed it was her way of expressing satisfaction.   
"This means, we have finally a lead to those freaks. Even more, you prevented more from happening. Good job!"  
She complimented Frisk and pated them on their back with such a raw power, it forced all air out of their lunge. They should also feel relieved. It is highly probable they prevented a murder and yet, not every pieces fitted the whole picture. They couldn't put it in words, but...  
"Undyne, I think..." they wanted to describe this pressing feeling inside their stomach to her.  
"You want to know where they were going, am I right?" the fish lady read them too well and all that was left for Frisk to do is to nod.  
"Don't worry, I will handle these two."   
Along with those words a bright spear made out of pure light appeared in her hand, it was a beautiful and clearly deadly weapon. There was no doubt she could handle the two thugs, the more pressing question was, would they survive long enough to talk. 

Frisk walked along the hall, that stretched out endlessly before them. The missing presence of any living soul didn't exactly helped to make them feel more at ease. Finally, an end was in sight and a tall human, completely dressed in black, stood before a door, grander and more baroque looking than the others. When he noticed them, he signalled them to stop several steps away from him.  
"I am sorry. These are private rooms. I must ask you to go back."   
Frisk could imagine how the two members of the golden flower gang would have gagged that single human guard and went on to reach whatever lay beyond it.   
"Oh, I must have got lost pretty bad."   
They tried their best to act like a carefree guest. G often emphasised their terrible acting and if they were honest with themselves, falsehood and deception weren't their strong suit. Right now, they had no other option than to try anyway.   
Frisk fished for a cigarette and looked around.   
"I was searching for a toilette and when I found this hallway I just couldn't restrain my curiosity."   
They knew their facade wasn't perfect, yet it worked on the guard. His posture got more relaxed, his voice lost its cold emphasise.   
"The gala isn't all that interesting, huh?"  
"Yes, it is tiring and a bit too crowded for my taste." Frisk didn't even lie about that and searched more obvious than necessary for their lighter. The human understood their body language and walked towards them, pulling out a matchbox and ignited a match, then their cigarette.  
They were now standing close, almost too close.   
Frisk took a first pull and placed the glowing stem between their lips.  
They kindly thanked him and showed their gratitude by placing their left leg behind his and pushing him backwards with the back of their hand pressed against his chin. With painful speed and an ugly sounding crack, his head, than his body kissed the floor. He was alive, but he would sleep in the depths of his unconscious for a while.   
Frisk quickly finished their cigarette and moved on, glad, even surprised, how well their improvised plan had worked.  
Behind the wooden door was a final room. Its furniture identified it as a kind of salon with grand windows, one of them was open. Their first reaction was relief and maybe a shred of sympathy for what they had done to the guard.  
Then they heard the muffled sounds, marked by panic and distress. A human in similar attire as the one they had just encountered, sat in one corner. His arms, legs and mouth were constrained with duck tape.   
Frisk's hair stood up as they noticed now the long range rifle that lay at the open window. They walked to it and looked outside. It offered a nice view of the entrance garden.   
Now, all pieces fitted.  
The two thugs of the flower gang, whose orders revolved around Asgore.  
Asgore mentioning the dissatisfaction of his influence among human politicians.  
The politicians, who would pay good money to see him dead.  
This perfect position for a sniper and necessary weapon readied on its side.  
The fraud at the door and the original guard, who screamed his lungs out at the corner.  
Only one person was missing in this bizarre event, the one who should hold the rifle.  
One moment too late, they felt the cold metal pressed against their back.  
"The missing piece." Frisk thought out loud and considered dozens of possibilities on how they could disarm the human holding a gun at their back.  
"Who are you and what do you want?" The voice behind them was deep and rasped with no emotion, nothing humane.  
"I simply got curious."   
Their answer was dissatisfying and this human wasn't used to witty comebacks. He pressed his weapon even harder against them.  
"You wouldn't knock out someone for idle interest. Now talk!"   
The human got nervous, this could work for their advantage as it made him more and more unfocused. However, the possibility of him accidently pulling the trigger rose likewise.  
Frisk settled for a risky manoeuvre, betting on the anger of their enemy. Before they could do anything, they could feel the abrupt appearance of someone right behind them. Only one monster, was capable of those shenanigans.   
"Careful with the gun, I would not like to loose my consigliere after such a short amount of time." G said, his words sounded even smoother and more mockingly than usual.   
The pressure on their back disappeared similar suddenly, and the human let out a shocked grunt. Frisk turned halfway around to see, that the pistol had completely vanished.  
The Don stood beside their attacker and disappeared again. Like a striking thunder he teleported, standing now toe to toe with the human, whose eyes were wide open reflecting a cocktail of horrifying sensations. They were fixed on his deep black eyeholes, that were mercilessly sucking in his soul.  
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. My consigliere will."   
With those words of reassurance, he stepped aside making way for Frisk's fist. It almost hit him and instead drilled itself into the human's stomach. He gasped and fell over with howling noises.  
Frisk ignored him, he had been just an outlet for their frustration, caused by their boss.  
"Don't meddle in my business!"   
It was hard not to shout at him.   
G simply shrugged and placed a foot on the head of the human, who was struggling to get up, forcing him to lay down unwillingly.  
"I noticed Undyne following you and neither her or you returned. As you would say. I just got curious and besides, I warned you about acting on your own."  
Frisk shook their head and sighed, out of annoyance and out of relief. He indeed warned them and this fact alone restricted them from going any further with this discussion.  
Instead, they reflected on the recent developments.   
The good news was, they comprehended the real culprit.   
The bad news was, this job was far from over.  
"If you are here, make yourself useful and handle the situation."   
They walked to the door, about to exit the room.  
G didn't even ask, what they intended to do. He could easily guess it. The only thing Frisk didn't foresee was his acceptance of their brash order and the sincerity of his parting words. As if he already knew, they were about to walk down a dark and dangerous path leading to the truth, to the roots of the golden flower.  
"Be careful, Kitten."


	3. The Reunion of two Souls

The two henchmen didn't look happy sitting in a barely lightened room opposite to a human, who wasn't pleased at all.   
"Don't get me wrong. I believe, that you were at the gala to prevent instead of causing an assassination." Frisk assured them.  
It had been easy to get the truly responsible humans to confess. They had been paid by a group of human politicians, who disliked Asgore's meddling with their businesses. Frisk had been able to prevent the worst as a 'lent' bodyguard, but the layers of this matter had been proven to be far more complex than they previously had thought.   
"What I am interested in is, who gave you this order and why? If you tell me that, I will let you go."   
The promise of freedom sounded intriguing and they looked at each other for a moment. There was a silent discussion between them and the smaller one decided to do the talking.  
"Even if we tell you, he is just a messenger and we don't question our orders. It is not healthy to be curious."   
Frisk thought back at the Don's explanation, how the flower gang was a chain, that could break at one point and thus all possible connections to the top would be lost forever. Based on this, they considered diverse possibilities and their associated risks.   
They took a pull from their cigarette, still fixating the monsters opposite to them.   
"A flowers roots can be deep, but if you dug it out, you will eventually be able to pull it out of the ground."   
They were aware of the cryptic nature of their words, but their involuntary guests understood anyway.   
"Alright, here is what we can tell you," said the taller one. "We get our assignments on a regular basis at a certain meeting point. Our direct boss is always someone different, the REAL boss...never saw him or her. Tomorrow we are supposed to give our report on the gala."  
Frisk had already decided on their next actions when the monster finished his explanation. With a gaze filled with determination, they made sure the two opposite would answer the first time they would ask.  
"Tell me where exactly you were supposed to meet."

When Frisk walked out of the interrogation room, they felt a chilly wind passing by them. They realized, with a look at a nearby tower clock, that a new day was about to dawn. Undyne stood beside the door and greeted them, she looked tired, but seemed to be in a good mood.  
"How did it go?"  
"They confessed everything they knew, which isn't much." Frisk said and went to explain to her G's theory. When they finished, she whistled as recognition of this information.  
"Sounds solid. So that means, we can let them go?"  
Frisk shook their head.   
"I have a plan." they began carefully.  
"This gang was once a lead for a personal case of mine and that they appeared again is no coincidence. We also still don't know what their connection to Asgore is, but what we do know is where and when those two were supposed to give their report."  
Undyne caught easily on their plan.  
"You want to go to their meeting point in their place? That sounds more than reckless." Frisk feared they would try to stop them, but the fish lady suddenly began to grin.  
"I like it!"   
They breathed out in relief.  
"Need any backup?" Undyne asked and let her visible muscles play a little.  
"Thank you, but I think it would be better for me, to go alone." they said with honest thankfulness in their voice. Their opposite scanned their face and finally, accepted their decision.  
"Alright, but before you go into some shady alleys in the name of an even more shady business, I am supposed to tell you, that Misses Dreemurr wants to see you. She got curious after what happened at the gala or she just intends to thank you personally."   
Frisk had to admit to themselves, they didn't think about the possibility that Asgore could have a wife. Considering he talked about his children during their first private talk, it shouldn't have had surprised them.   
Undyne noticed their confusion and gave them a hard pat on their back as a form of breath-taking encouragement.  
"Don't worry she is really nice." her one visible eye got more serious as she continued.   
"I will warn you beforehand. Toriel lives apart from Asgore. She doesn't agree with his recent decisions and there are other more personal reasons for her to seek a more quiet retirement. Don't underestimate her because of that. Back in the days, she was a respected Don."

Based on Undyne's description, Frisk had sketched a few pictures of Toriel Dreemurr in their head, while they were on their way to her house in one of the most expensive areas of the city. However, they were taken aback by the appearance of the person who personally opened the door. Toriel was an elegant lady with a warm, open smile and kind eyes. She exceeded, more than that, she contradicted their expectations. They were lead into her classy estate with many traditional elements, reflecting perfectly its owner and Frisk couldn't help, but thinking it felt homey.   
"It is nice you could come by. Undyne told me so much about you and I wanted to personally thank you." she commented while they crossed dozen of rooms, finally reaching a winter garden with a rich mixture of local and exotic plants. In the middle of the glass construct was a squiggly assemble made of a white table and two chairs. An equally fancy pot and cups had been placed on it and Toriel gestured they should take one of the seats.  
The natural sunlight, that engulfed the artificial garden, turned the scene into something surreal, it was an almost too peaceful sight. So when Frisk sat down they did it with a stiff manner and an intense look, focusing the expensive porcelain before them.   
"Don't you like tea? I could make you a coffee instead." Their opposite asked with honest worry in their voice.  
They shook their head, partly as an answer and mostly to shake off their natural caution and skepticism for this warm greeting. They had no reason to mistrust the monster lady before them. Despite that logic, they had to say this thought to themselves several times until their muscles truly relaxed a little.  
"I have no preference," Frisk said and wanted to take the teapot to fill the two cups, but Toriel was a second faster and poured them first along with a laugh.  
"Please, you are my guest. I will handle everything, your only duty is to sit back and enjoy yourself."   
If she would have asked them to fight against a whole gang by themselves, it would have made more sense for them.   
Their irritation must have been clearly written in their face. Another one of their host's delighted, honey-sweet laughs resounded in the conservatory.  
"I guess you are more used to serving that old boneyman, than getting treated?" she asked with a surprisingly whimsical smile. Frisk had never met a person, who talked about their boss in such a manner. It was this decisive phrasing that allowed them to breath out most of their exertion.  
"Thank you for your invitation and the tea. As a consigliere, it is one of my duties to provide the Don with everything he needs during his work." they said and lifted up their cup. The freshly brewed tea had a nice aroma, not too strong and not too sweet.  
"I see you internalized the principles of your position pretty quick." Toriel complimented them and took a careful sip. She wore a practical dress in a combination of purple and beige, along with restrained jewelry, which was, without doubt, of similar high quality, like everything else around her.  
"You probably wonder why an old lady like me demands some of your precious time after you helped out my ex-husband."   
The more Toriel spoke, the more Frisk got aware how clearly she saw everything and what Undyne meant when she warned them to not underestimate her.   
They nodded and took a draught from their tea, it flowed down their throat smooth and soothingly.  
"I could now talk a lot about how this conversation is meant to revitalize connections between families and to uphold our traditions to pay each other respect for the help, but to be honest, you seem like the more direct type so I will admit, I got curious about you after everything that I heard."   
The way Toriel phrased her words, her whole body gestures, her language, her rhetorical style, everything was fairly alike to Asgore's. Frisk tried to imagine, how these two monsters would have worked together in the past and who of them would have been in charge. It was truly hard to tell.  
"Helping Mister Dreemurr out also benefited a case of my own, so it was a bilateral business. However, I am glad I could help prevent the worst."   
Frisk couldn't help but to answer truthfully, their host noticed that, too.  
"You are honest, this is, despite what everyone else believes, a good quality in our working expertise." she agreed.  
"So how come a human like you ends up in the underground and even swear their allegiance to one of the most dangerous and unpredictable of the bunch?"  
Frisk thought about this question quite a while, constructing a truthful answer, which simultaneously didn't reveal everything.  
"I was abducted by an unknown group of people, Don G had been my first lead and turned out to be dead end, so I began to work for him to investigate my own case."   
The frustration about their abortive search resonated through their words. The eyes of their opposite turned slightly darker, more serious.  
"Human trafficking has been a problem in this city for many years. Many of my kind like to think it is because humans tended to do the same with us. However, it is far more than an act of revenge. They are used as rare goods, as slaves or even for illegal experiments."   
A deep sadness surrounded Toriel like an invisible coat. Frisk knew they should drop this topic right here, but they couldn't, for their own and her hosts sake.  
"You seem to know quite a lot about this, Miss Dreemurr. May I ask what connection do you have with this kind of business?"  
She emptied her cup and refilled it before she answered, a hint of a smile has returned to her. It wasn't comparable to her previous one in any way.  
"Did my husband talked about our children to you?"   
When Frisk confirmed her assumption, she allowed herself a sigh.   
"Of course, that old melancholy idiot couldn't resist comparing you to Chara and I have to admit the resemblance is indeed astonishing. We also found them in a crate when they were little or to be precise our son, Asriel did find them."  
This information let them breath out sharply. They didn't knew there had been humans in the very same situation as themselves, with the only difference, that they have broken out of the crate on their own.   
Toriel held out a hand to sign them, they should stop their questions before they could phrase them.  
"Before you ask, I don't know about Chara's circumstance more than those few facts. They had no memory about where they came from and how they got there. With months and eventually years passing by, they also seemed to not care about it anymore. The only thing they were always certain off was that the time would come when they had to leave our family."  
What she said connected with the Asgore's version of the story. Frisk nodded and added:  
"Asgore said they left when they were coming of age."  
"Asgore is a fool, who lies to himself." Her voice turned more resolute and allowed a glimpse at a deep embedded anger, making it clear why those two monsters, who have once loved each other are now living apart.  
"Chara had no choice than to leave and Asriel followed them. I don't know where they really went, but those letters he sent us do not speak the whole truth. Asgore always expected our son to inherit the family. When it became clear, that this would never happen he tried to distract himself with what he regards as noble work. But what is even the difference between politicians and the mafia?"   
Several of her phrasing made Frisk wary and provided more questions than answers. Yet, they felt they meddled in a family matter and it was time to respectfully change the subject.  
"I heard from Undyne, you also withdrew from the mafia?"  
When Toriel noticed Frisk's empty cup she refilled it with as if it was the most natural thing to do.   
"Yes, I own an orphanage for monster and humans alike. Seeing those children getting along is like a little utopia, my only hope for a better future."   
Frisk looked at their own, bizarre reflection in their full cup. It was not the face of their thirty-year old self, but a younger version. Toriel's narration and her estrange kindness triggered few of their memories to resurface. They drank their tea and what it had reflected in one gulp.  
"I am sorry this conversation got so off track. I hope I haven't bored you too much."   
Their opposite signaled the end of their talk in her typical attentive, careful manner and Frisk felt grateful for this gesture.  
"It was a pleasure talking to you, Miss Dreemurr. The tea was also really nice." they returned their hospitality accordingly.  
The smile with which she answered would be something they would never forget.   
It was filled with warmth, yet strength. It was filled with understanding and also with knowledge as dark as its origin.   
It was the smile of a mother, an influential boss and a new powerful acquaintance.

The shadows grew larger, the lights got dimmer and the city went on pulsating with life and death, when Frisk reached the supposed meeting point of the flower gang henchmen. Following the coordinates, the two had given them, they found themselves in a quiet district, mostly consisting of rented storages and apartments.   
They hid behind a garbage container opposite the street, where they expected another gang member to appear at any moment.   
Cowering behind a sticky, foul-smelling hideout, it was hard to tell the time.  
As the sun completely vanished and left only darkness behind, they were sure, whoever was supposed to show up wouldn't come anymore.   
Was it possible, that those two lied to Frisk?  
Or did their boss get wind from their failure and decided it would be wise to avoid this place tonight?  
They couldn't rule out either of those.   
Frisk, despite getting impatient, decided to stay behind the dumpster for a while longer.  
Nothing moved in the dark and the only sounds were the sirens and roars of the motors echoing all the way from the city's center.  
Feeling a chill slowly crawling up their neck, their endurance reached a limit and they walked out into the street, towards the meeting point. No human, nor monster in sight and Frisk felt more and more ensured something had gone wrong and their plan to ambush the intermediary of the flower gang had failed.   
They leaned against a street light and thought about their next moves, while searching for a cigarette.   
From the nearest apartment complex sounded a soft voice. At first, Frisk believed a woman was talking in a low tone. Soon, the voice grew louder and more tangible.   
It was a song, sad and slow, with its pressing dominance it filled the empty night.   
Frisk's thoughts were pulled towards it. They looked up to the stars, then down at their glowing cigarette in their right hand.   
Strangely, they remembered Toriel Dreemurr and tea inside an artificial paradise.   
A warm feeling spread from inside the core of their soul into every inch of their body. Their eyelids needed all of their strength to move up and down. They blinked again, this time they almost stayed closed.  
Their cigarette fell on the ground and it was this blurry sight, that made them realize they were getting sleepy too fast and they weren't able to do anything about it.  
Frisk noticed with a shocking and late sensation, how their consciousness was slipping away.   
The song grew louder, filling and resonating in their mind until nothing was left.

First there was only naught, then there was pain and Frisk woke up with a jolt. They felt like they were drowning and had suddenly returned to the surface, gasping for air.   
Pain. Sudden pain crawled through their whole body.  
Their arms were bound by flesh-cutting chains, that held them up in the air. They were too tight and they could hardly feel their hands, nor fingers.   
Their eyes got used to the light, though the dizziness and pulsation of their brain turned the mere task of pulling up their head almost impossible.  
Frisk was hung, like a carcass by the butcher, in a small depot. The lamps illuminated around half of the room. It was filled with crates, they couldn't make out anything else. Testing their own strength and their forceful restrictions, they jolted and twisted their body. It had the sole purpose to show them how hopeless their situation was. The rustling of their chains resounded through the room, followed by footsteps. They belonged to one person, who had probably stood in one of the corners, where the lights couldn't reach him.   
Frisk gave up their struggle and watched as the observer came nearer until he stopped directly under one of the light bulbs. It took them three seconds to figure out whose eyes looked back at them.   
However, the resemblance of his father was undeniable. He was a younger version of Asgore dressed in simple attire. His facial expressions were the opposite of his mothers.   
Asriel Dreemurr's eyes were framed by black lines, so he seemed as if he didn't sleep for months. But the worst thing about them was their missing emotions, they were like a blank page.  
Frisk felt an unsettling combination of confusion and surprise and as the monster simply stared at them, they decided to start with a handful of their most pressing asks and assumptions.  
"Those two friends of yours led me into a trap, right? You just needed to place a monster specialized on singing magic nearby and you could easily abduct me. I admit it, I let my guard down."  
No answer.  
"Well, I am also concluding, based on the fact that I am alive, you have no intention to kill me right now. This means I have information you want or connections?"  
They were thinking out loud, mostly due to the lack of other options and it helped ignoring Asriel's burning gaze.   
"If you seek Don G's influence, I might have to disappoint you. I have nothing to do with that."   
The monster took another step forward, his face remained unchanged. He had to slightly look up to Frisk.  
"You are aware your parents are worried about you? Where were you even and why are you not with them?"   
They had decided they might get through to him by confronting the monster with more personal questions. Effectively his hands twitched for a moment. It gave them hope. They continued.   
"They told me you wanted to help your people. Do you think you are making the world a better place by siding with a gang?"  
Frisk's throat felt sore, they must have been unconscious for hours, but they couldn't took a break now. A storm began to rise in his iris'.  
"Did you end up here because of Chara or..."  
"Don't say that name!" Asriel shouted with boundless force. They noticed, through a coincidental reflection, that he hold a small knife in his left hand. He lifted the weapon and pointed with it at their face.  
"What is your connection with Chara?"   
It was his first and last question and his voice lay bare a whole story of two beings, who had been once close to each other. One, however vanished, and the other one had been left behind, broken and hurt.   
"I don't know anything about Chara. Your parents mentioned them, that is all." they spoke calmly.   
A hissing sound, followed by a hot, acute sensation. With his knife, Asriel had left a cut on them at the right side of their hip as a response.   
"I can repeat it, as many times as you want and as many times you want to cut me. I don't know anything."  
Despite a growing worry, Frisk held their voice low and firm.  
Another red string appeared at their left leg, the blood penetrated their trousers.  
"You liar! How can you know nothing? You look like them, you talk like them. This can't be a coincidence. It is simply not possible." The anger slowly crumbled away and a wall of raw pain emerged from within the monster.  
They knew chances were low he would answer them, but they couldn't think of anything, that would be more meaningful.  
"You two left home together, right? What happened? Why do you think I am Ch...the person you are looking for."   
At least it defused the situation slightly and Asriel lowered his weapon. He began to walk up and down, until he stopped two steps away from them.  
"We joined the military and worked as ambassadors in the name of the humans in the outer parts of the world where wars between monster and humans continue to destroy the land and its people. We wanted to be a symbol of a new, peaceful age. A monster and a human, together. One day, a group of monster rebels ambushed Chara and ever since then...I never found them, nor the culprits. And now you appeared and you still want to tell me this means nothing?"   
He turned towards them again with a new hatred, fueled by his memories. Frisk guessed, he was around their own age. They could imagine him as a young man, who had been full of hopes and ideals. The world had broken him, took away from him what was most precious.   
"I am sorry for your loss, but you are chasing an echo. Your friend is gone and I have nothing to do with it."   
Their phrasing was brutally honest and it didn't come without risks.   
Asriel stepped up to them, lead by a wild, uncontrolled fury. They feared he might attack them again, but he seized something with his other hand instead.   
It was a golden necklace with a little, equally golden heart. Frisk always wore this thin accessories under their clothes, carefully tucked away by their shirt. They hadn't noticed that it was visible now.   
Asriel examined it in his stretched out hand.   
"Chara wore this exact necklace. A tiny, golden heart. They called it their 'soul'. Where did you get it?"   
Their headache got worse, a strong pulsation made it impossible to ignore the inner lamentation of their mind. A voice emerged from within them. It was still their own and yet, completely different. They knew this voice, they knew its meaning, they knew that no matter what happened, they wouldn't allow it to grow louder.  
"I always had it with me. It is a keepsake, nothing more."   
They pressed out this sentence through their teeth, fighting a battle on both side now, against his opposite and against themselves.  
Asriel's palm closed around the heart. His sorrow and desire to find his dearest friend completely overwhelmed him and the outline of a white, upside-down heart appeared at his chest. His soul cried out so strong, so painfully, it started to become visible. The presence inside of them rejoiced at this sight and demanded it with violent outcries.  
"You are still not telling the truth. TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW! NOW!"  
Along with his last screamed word, he ripped the necklace with a strong pull and simultaneously, their consciousness, which had been weakened by pain and fatigue, ripped, too.  
'Frisk' was gone and their place triumphed another being. They were the one who let out a howling laugh as they realized they had finally took control over their other self.  
Asriel's face showed clear horror now and he let go off the necklace and the knife, which he had hold on to. Their eyes were unusually open and their mouth deformed to a wide, never ending smile.  
What a wonderful evening, they thought.  
This monster had loved another human and now his soul lay bare and empty right before them. They wanted to LOVE him, too. They wanted to release him from this pain.  
Pain.  
They felt so much pain.  
It didn't bother them.  
"You...are you Chara?" Asriel's whole body trembled, and he couldn't do anything about it. Everything inside him screamed to run away. He tried to reason with himself, that the human was still bound by metal. What could they possibly do?  
Chains rustled and he looked up just in time to see, how his captive pulled one of their arms out of their restrains. Not without a toll. They could had only accomplished that by letting the chains cut into their flesh and let the metal rip away parts of their skin. The blood flew out of their deep wounds around their wrist and coated their hand in streams of blood.  
It was easy now. They let go of the chains, which they had hold on with their other hand and landed safely on their feet.   
They were free.  
Asriel, unable to look away from them, took several steps to increase the distance between them. His opposite had still an almost painful resemblance to his old friend, but everything inside him screamed, that he was in great danger, that if he wouldn't act, it might be fatal.  
They picked up his knife, examined it and deemed it worthy. It felt good in their hand, right where it belonged.  
They focused the monster, who summoned a whole arsenal of his family's magic, bulbs of fire appeared all around and two floating blaster were right beside him.   
His love was also very high, they felt a shiver down their spin. It was the greatest pleasure they ever felt.   
The human laughed.  
They began to move towards him, first slowly, then escalating into a breathtaking speed.  
Asriel aimed dozen of shots at them, but they dodged them all. It was almost as if they danced around his blasts. He moved around, away, just away from the knife, that was aiming at him and continuously shot everything he could summon.   
Nothing hit.  
And then there was this one chance. They were cornered and the crates blocked their only way out. Asriel aimed both his blasters at them, they weren't even noticing him as they had to be careful to not get hit by his other projectiles.   
It was Chara. He simply couldn't bring himself to NOT see them in his opponent.  
It was like he was back to those times they had fought together in the name of peace and their ideal of a better world.   
Lost in the past he didn't even realized, that his two blaster were ready to charge and he altered their aim just in time, so they barely scratched the human.   
This attack called their attention towards him and with uneven steps they got nearer to him again.   
He didn't know what to do. He couldn't hurt them. He couldn't dodge forever either. Chara stood before him and, at the same time, it wasn't them. It was like their revengeful spirit, who would haunt him for leaving them alone during that one fateful mission.  
A flash of metal barely missed him and his opponent set on for another attack with their knife. He could escape the next one, too, but suddenly they seized his shirt with their bleeding hand, that they hadn't been using until this point and pushed him to the ground.   
Asriel landed hard on his back. His instincts were to immediately get up again. He couldn't. The human was already sitting over him. One hand still hold on to his shirt, they other held the knife, its tip aiming for his chest.  
His breath was as fast as his heartbeat, his mind went blank. There was nothing left, except their deformed smile looming above him.  
He didn't want this. He had just been looking for his friend.  
His soul was painfully visible now. They simply needed to cut him open and take it. They were so near to fulfill their sole purpose.   
The tears, that rolled down his face distracted them for a second. From the deepest parts of their consciousness, pictures emerged.   
They were memories of a lone father, who talked about his son with greatest pride and of a strong lady, who had lost her family and yet, showed an understanding only a mother could.  
Their body wouldn't move, it trembled more and more, but their hand was frozen.  
They didn't want love.  
This thought resounded from the same place, where these irritating memories came from. It was like a teardrop hitting a quiet lake, causing the water to become wavy and with each ripple echoed the other voice inside them louder and stronger.   
They didn't want to hurt him.  
They didn't want his soul.  
They didn't want all this.  
This wasn't their true self.  
They would decide themselves, who they were.  
They recollected their memories and their current dominating self was unable to stop them. Several moments passed in silence, but Asriel could feel how they changed inside, how one of the two voices was winning this inner conflict.  
"Who...are you?" he asked. He wanted to add 'right now' to his question. It wasn't necessary though, the person who answered, understood anyway  
"I think you never asked me. I am Frisk. Though, some idiots like to call me Kitten."   
Finally, everything was at its supposed place again and the maniacal voice, who still demanded his soul was banned into the depth of their mind, where it belonged.  
They let go of the knife and stood up. The shock was still too much for Asriel to be able to move.  
Both, monster and human, caught their breaths and Frisk looked around them, taking notice of the devastation their violence had left behind. Most crates were burning down or had been reduced to ash. Even the walls were black from the fire attacks and the floor was sprinkled with red dots, which they guessed was their own blood.  
They felt, they should start talking or they feared they might freeze in their current position.  
"I am sorry for everything that has happened."   
Asriel tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't move an inch. Frisk walked beside him and offered him a hand.  
"I won't hold a grudge against you for taking me hostage, after all you just wanted to see them again. I can feel how much Chara meant to you."  
The monster accepted their help and finally got up, unsteadily.  
When he looked at them it wasn't without fear, though, it was more dominated by awe and surprise. He had difficulties wrapping his head around what had happened the last minutes, but he was sure it was only because of the personality of the human who stood beside him, that he was still alive.  
"I am the one who should apologize." he mumbled. Exhaustion almost overwhelmed him again and Frisk prevented him from falling by supportively laying one of his arms around their neck.  
"It is true, you owe me a detailed explanation and you have all the time for that, when I am taking you home now."  
Asriel knew he couldn't protest. He nodded and they walked out of the depot, leaving behind all their anger and sadness in this destroyed hall. 

A new day was about to dawn and Asriel hold his promise and told Frisk everything they wanted to know.   
He recapitulated how he, after Chara went missing, declined his military position and returned here. He wanted to find comfort by his parents, but he soon saw how his decision had severe consequences. Asgore had disbanded his family and Toriel had left him. He gave himself the fault for it and didn't know how to face them. Asriel decided to gather some of their previous family members and they brought friends along with them. Not long after that they became a real gang. At first, their sole purpose had been to find clues about Chara's whereabouts, but they needed to sustain their group, so he got involved in weapon smuggling.  
"The golden flower had been the symbol of my family for generations, so I settled on it as the symbol of our gang and it stuck with the others. Everything went out of hands so quickly. I never intended to lead a group this big. I figured, the least I could do is to use this power to protect my family without them noticing it."   
When Asriel had finished, they had reached the street in which Toriel lived.  
"This is why you sent those two henchmen to the gala? And then you saw me and figured I would have something to do with your friend?" Frisk asked and tried to hide their heavy breath. Their walk had been unexpectedly long and supporting this monster all the time took its toll on their body.  
"Yes, I set up the trap for you." he paused and lay his eyes on his mother's estate, that was enveloped in the first rays of sun.   
"On second thought, I really can't face my family. How am I supposed to explain all this to them?"  
Around six steps away from their goal, Frisk stopped and pushed him softly away from them.   
"I didn't know both them for that long, but I know for sure, that they deeply care about you. You are their son, no matter what happened. It is your duty to face and respond to their feelings."  
Asriel's eyes were completely different, than how they looked last night. They were filled with uncertainty and hope and with respect for his opposite.  
"You really are different than Chara. What about you, shouldn't we get your arm treated?"   
He looked at the bloody mess, that was Frisk's right wrist and hand.  
They shrugged and made with their working hand a gesture as if they wanted to shoo away a pigeon.  
"This is none of your business. Now go and stop doing stupid things for once."  
The smile with which he said his goodbye was incredible reminiscent of his mother's. 

With this reassuring picture in their mind, they began their way home after a long, pitch-black night. However, they soon felt like they they had to lift a ton with each step and their head became dizzy and heavy. Frisk needed to lean at a wall, their wounds pulsated and sting. They had lost to much blood and with a sudden clarity they knew they wouldn't make it to their apartment.  
The soothing nothingness when they fell unconscious was similar to the sleeping magic, but, in short intervals they caught glimpses of their surroundings and of movements.  
They knew, for example, they were lifted up and carried by two arms, that were as hard and uncomfortable as bones. They were tenderly laid down on a soft bed and two faces were looming over them for some time. One of them was oddly familiar.  
They couldn't tell when, but at some point real sleep found them and after they woke up again, they found themselves in their bedroom. Frisk looked down on them and first noticed the bandages around their arm and wrist. During a further inspection, they also found, that the more shallow wounds, at their hip and leg had also been treated. They couldn't move their right hand much. The rest of their body felt crumpled, but fine. So they slowly got up and pushed the curtains beside. A whole day must have passed by, because the sun was about to vanish behind the skyscrapers.   
Frisk walked some circles and set down at their bed.   
They gathered their thoughts and concluded they would tell G about last night's events in the morning. This would also give them opportunity to ask him about their treatment. They couldn't shake off the feeling he had something to do with it.  
After a long overdue glass of water, they couldn't take the silence of the home anymore, not with those recent memories, that popped up in their mind and wouldn't go away for a while, until they became pale and belonged to a far away past.  
Frisk decided to get dressed and get out for a drink. They already settled for a place nearby, which they had grew accustomed to soon after they started working under G.

There weren't many visitors in this early hour of the night as Frisk entered the 'Grillby'. Most of the benches and stools were unoccupied, instead, the room was filled with visible streams of smoke and music.   
Grillbz stood behind his bar and prepared a drink for the only costumer, who sat right before the barkeeper. The flames of his body tingled around him as he moved from liquor to liquor, searching for all necessary components. He waved in Frisk's direction while they walked towards him.   
Finally they recognized the silhouette before him and deliberately choose a seat, so they left an empty one between them.   
"You really need to tell me, how you continue to find me." they said, rubbing their tired eyes and signaling Grillbz they would take the usual.  
Having the finished, fine glass of mixture of fine brands in his hand, G toasted in their direction.  
"I was here first, so it appears you found me, not the opposite." he remarked and took a sip.   
He was right and Frisk had no stamina left for an intelligent comeback. They resigned and waited for their order.   
"Despite disobeying me, you did a good job. Asgore and Toriel send you their regards and appreciation for everything you did." He said and lighted himself a cigar by holding its end nearby the burning barkeeper. Grillbz didn't seem to take notice of it or he was simply used to it. How he even could wear clothes or touch the glasses was a mystery, but monsters, who are mostly made of magic, defy logic on a daily basis anyway.  
"I feel like I stumbled into their business rather than deliberately help them." They said swiftly, then, added after some pondering:  
"I am glad though, that Asriel decided to face his parents. He needs their company so his inner wounds can heal and Asgore doesn't need to fear a homicide in the near future."  
"You still don't understand, that old goat has been used to these threats since his early days, ever since he chose the mafia."   
They weren't certain, but they got the impression he didn't talk to them and he didn't talk to Grillbz either. He looked slightly up, into a different time maybe, a different place certainly. His voice sounded distant and incredibly old.  
"Death is our dearest friend and always on our side. It is like we try to please Death by imitating its work. But it doesn't save us, nothing can."  
His free hand moved, probably lead by his subconscious up his vest and rested on one of its pockets. Frisk knew its content. An old pair of glasses, round and with a thin metallic frame. They had once saw him cleaning them with a similar expression to what he wore this very moment. Frisk was curious about the story behind them, but just like that time, they didn't know how to ask him. So they remained silent, slowly drinking their bourbon and waited for the memories to pass by.  
"Also, do you believe everything up this point was a mere coincidence?" he asked and was back to his usual self.  
"What do you mean?"  
G knew he had their attention and he enjoyed it. He signaled them, they should move to the seat next to him before he would speak. With a frown they obliged, he returned their resentment with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.  
"Well, do you believe it was by mere chance, that Asgore chose you as his additional protection for the gala? Why would he demand your company and even though it went against all logic wanted for you to be visible on display?"  
Frisk, who was about to take another sip from their drink, halted their movement. They began to put the pieces, that G offered them, together. They didn't like the resulting picture.  
"So Asgore had a hitch the golden flower gang had something to do with his son and he used me as bait, because I look similar to Chara?"  
G emptied his liquor, followed by a shrug.  
"Everything is pure speculation of course. Maybe this matter will never be truly solved. The returned son still refuses to talk about some crucial events after all. Like his meeting with you and how you got so injured."   
He focused their wounded arm and it made Frisk uncomfortable. His words made it clear, that he was better informed about the events of the last two days, than it should be possible.   
When he was sure they wouldn't give him an answer, he pulled out, from a pocket inside his jacket, a delicate, glimmering necklace. A small, golden heart.   
"Asriel gave this to me and said I should return it to you. Honestly, he mistreats a Don as a delivery man, young monsters today have no sense for proper hierarchy."   
His words were supposed to sound like mild complains, but as he placed Frisk's dear possession in their hand, he did so with a soft expression, that had been previously unknown to them.  
They noticed, that Asriel had even fixed the necklace and along with a ongoing swirl of diverse sensations, they put it on. The metal felt good around their neck, it was like their soul was complete again.  
Something, though, still bothered them.  
"Are you not going to tell me how dangerous it was to go alone and how stupid it was to disobey your orders?"  
G tipped his cigar over a nearby ashtray, the corners of his mouth had slightly moved up.  
"You want ME to give you a lecture about how reckless your actions were? This is something new."   
Frisk nodded. They were too tired for an actual confrontation, they merely spoke out aloud the doubts they had posed against themselves.   
"As a consigliere, you are the second voice of the family. Only your boss could forbid someone with your rank to do as they please. However..." his eyes moved to their side and they realized how short their distance was.  
"A Don would never pick a consigliere, if he would not trust in their judgment."   
His words were marked by honesty, they even sounded like praise in their lingering sound. They were helping to close an open wound inside them by giving them assurance, no, more than that, by giving them an identity after their self was shaken to its very ground. It was the first time, they felt truly grateful towards their boss.   
Instead of backing away from him, as they previously intended, they moved with their right side nearer, until they leaned their shoulder against his.   
"Don't say a word and just let me stay like this for a little while." they said, feeling equally tired and strangely safe.  
G followed their plead. He remained silent and, for some time, the soft jazz from the music box was the only thing, that resounded in the bar. Don G wore a mild smile, that only Grillbz witnessed, when his consigliere layed down their head at his shoulder and fell asleep.


End file.
